Flora & Fauna
The noisy Buff-breasted paradise kingfisher chicks are out of their nests now and Daintree Managers Joe & Sandy have heard their funny ‘skwarking’ noise moving around in the bush, and have caught the adults swooping down to feed their young. The babies’ noise is getting louder and louder as weeks go on which indicates they are growing strong.
A protective Southern Cassowary father has been seen (and loudly heard!) crashing through the bush after another male cassowary to ensure he keeps his distance from Dad’s babies. While Dad was gone protecting his territory, the baby cassowaries could be heard in distressed tones ‘whistling’ for him to come back, crying for about 15 minutes. It just goes to show the more cassowary habitat we protect the more room for these wonderful creatures to roam in their own territories undisturbed.
With the humidity strong the striking Ulysses Butterflies have been flitting busily around. More uncommon, the green spotted triangle butterfly has been seen (Graphium agamemnon). These butterflies are strong and restless fliers, fluttering their wings constantly. They can breed up to 8 times a year and yellow eggs are laid on the underside of leaves, hatching after 3–4 days.
Image above: Graphium agamemnon © CSIRO
Seed Collection
This time of year is quite light in terms of plants that ‘seed’, with most fruiting around September. However those that are include a few varieties of oak and the Lolly Bush (Clerodendron tracyanum) which seems to pop up all over the Daintree and are a food source for cassowaries and their babies alike.
Image above: Clerodendron tracyanum © CSIRO
Seedlings Progress
Even though rain is needed, there has been enough to plant and the team are over halfway through Stage 1 regeneration work for the NightWings Project – a reforestation project south of the Daintree River which has been farmed and sugar caned for the past 50 years. Seedlings on BioPak Conservation Fund’s Protected Hectares Lot 46, Cape Tribulation Rd, have grown even more and the newest plantings which are only ten months old are between 1.5 metres – 2.5 metres. Considering that at 3 metres a canopy can start to close over and thus the rainforest can commence its journey back to its natural pristine state, this is very exciting.
Rainforest trees on Lot 96 Cape Tribulation Rd where BioPak Conservation Fund has also funded the planting of rainforest seedlings have grown immensely with some trees as high as 3 metres while the rest are between 1 and 2 metres.
None of this would be possible without BioPak Conservation Fund’s investment.
Thank you so much for your support.
Kristin Canning, Rainforest Rescue